MCCS1977

A little of what I heard on the way home from drill this weekend of CSPAN’s XM rebroadcast of Meet the Press:

I have never challenged other people’s patriotism. I haven’t challenged Hillary Clinton’s or John McCain’s, and I will not stand by and allow somebody else to challenge mine. The fact that I’m running for president right now is an indication of how much I love this country, because it has given everything to me. This country has been a great source of good. I’ve lived overseas and seen the difference between America and what it stands for and what other countries oftentimes stand for and where they fall short. I’ve, I’ve said before, my story’s not possible in any other country on earth. You know, when I think about this country, I think about my grandfather fighting in World War II in Patton’s army; I think about my grandmother staying home–staying back and, and working on a bomber assembly line while she was raising a kid in–as, as they’re coming out of a depression. And, and so this country is the–it defines, for me, what’s possible for not just me, but for so many people who see this as a beacon of good, including my father, who originally came here seeking an education in this country. So I love this country. It is what I have been fighting for, a–that America lives up to its values and its ideals. And that’s what I think the people of Indiana and that’s what the people of North Carolina are looking for right now. What, what–they love this country as well, but what they’ve believe is that the values that have built this country, the belief in–that hard work is rewarded, that you can raise a family and have health care, and buy a home and retire with dignity and respect, that those things feel like they’re slipping away. And what this campaign’s about, what I think this moment is about in America is whether or not we are going to fight for those ideals that make this country great, and, and if we miss that opportunity, then I think we will be doing a disservice to future generations. – Senator Barack Obama

I also caught this from CNN’s Late Edition:

BLITZER: Beginning with the controversial comments of Barack Obama’s former pastor, the explosive issue of race and religion was certainly front and center for much of this political week.

To discuss all these issues, I’m joined now by three guests. In our New York bureau, Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel. He supports his fellow New Yorker, Hillary Clinton.

…

And, Charlie Rangel, I’ll start with you, and I’ll play this sound bite from what Barack Obama said on this sensitive issue of the Reverend Wright, earlier today on “Meet the Press.” (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: What really changed was a sense that he was going to double down on the statements that he had made before. And, to me, that indicated to me that he was not — that he did not share my fundamental belief and my fundamental values, in terms of bringing the country together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, the criticism of Barack Obama is that what Jeremiah Wright said at the National Press Club, Congressman Rangel, was no different than what he’s been saying for some time, and he should have known that these controversial remarks would be made.

Is this explanation that Senator Obama is making good enough for you?

RANGEL: It’s disgraceful that he has to make any explanation for anything. The intrusion of the media and Republicans into the sacred relationship that worshipers have with their spiritual leaders, I think, is going to come back to haunt us.

To think that we have to go into the lives and the beliefs of rabbis and priests and ministers and imams is absolutely ridiculous.

We’ve got a war on. We’ve got an economy that’s splintered. I think the media should be more responsible and start dealing with those issues. I don’t think many people care what Reverend Wright thinks, and I don’t see how — why any candidate should have to explain [about it].

If you call yourself a Democrat, a Liberal, Progressive–whatever–and you see what the Media has done to this Primary, and then lay down while the Dukakis/Gore/Kerry section of the ol’ playbook is read from chapter and verse…you deserve what a Clinton or McCain Presidency will do to this country.